5 star reads are ones I want to own physically. Books that I see myself wanting to read again (or having read several times already like The Long Walk and Misery). I do a LOT of half and quarter star ratings because there are SO MANY books that aren't QUITE the whole star rating but are really close or are a little better than the whole star. It's one of the things I've loved the most since I switched to storygraph a few years ago, the ability to do quarter stars is HUGE.
I really appreciate the quarter and half stars on Storygraph, it opened up the ability to rate things in a more precise way. On Goodreads I tended to round up when rating things. My current single star ratings tend to be: 5 - a physical copy will have a permanent home on my shelves because I loved it so much 4 - I had a good time, it was entertaining or interesting, I'll probably have a physical copy for at least a few years but may unhaul in the future if I run out of space 3 - decent read, but not one im going to read again and i won't keep a physical copy 2 - I finished this and didn't really enjoy it, immediately unhauling 1 - I have no idea why I finished this (if nonfiction I was probably trying to understand another point of view and I thought it was poorly done) Usually if I'm feeling a 2 I'll DNF before finishing. I'm pretty picky about what I buy too, I'll check out a bunch of stuff from the library and try it first and if I'm into the first few chapters I'll buy a copy and finish reading my own copy so I tend to rate pretty highly overall because of this. And then of course SG let's us use the quarter and half stars so I can rate not quite a 4 a 3.75 instead. I love seeing all the nuance in how people rate books. It adds a lot more to consider as I'm looking at the ratings for books im interested in too.
Your rating system is so similar to mine. I do half stars in my reading journal for sure. If a book is a 4 or 5 star, I want to have it on my shelf - five stars for sure!
I have never done half-stars and my system is pretty boring: 5- loved it 4- really liked it 3- liked it 2- didn’t really like it 1- hated it I don’t think I’ve ever finished a book that would have been one star, so no, I don’t give 1-star ratings. And twos are also pretty rare because I’m more likely to dnf these as well. There is certainly nuance among any of my categories and not all 5-star books are equal for sure as the reason I gave them 5-stars differs. Maybe they are all-time favorites, things I will read over and over again, maybe they were just super compelling and well written, or maybe they just hit me at just the right time. Occasionally I will look back at a rating and want to change it (there were two like that last year), but generally what I rate it when I finish remains true to me looking back. Like you said, it’s just a gut feeling. My 11-year-dislikes my system and definitely prefers half or quarter stars.
I feel like everyone's system will be different. I really like the nuance of half/quarter stars. It feels more true than just saying it's a 3 or a 4. When it comes to things like rating and reviewing early review copies of books, I definitely round up my ratings - so if it was a 3.5 I'll give it 4 stars.
I have been revisiting my thoughts on how I rate books too. I don't really give 1-2 stars because I usually DNF those, perhaps if it is good but then the ending sinks it... 3 means it is enjoyable, but I am unlikely to pick it back up. 4 is a good book worth rereading and a 5 is incredible, one of my favorite books of all time. So I have lots of half points and very few 5's. I think I am comfortable with that, because then the stars really stand out.
I wish Goodreads had quarter or half stars. I am pretty generous...3 is a "meh" read for me. I have to consider whether I'm the right person for the book and also try to compare the book to itself, or be as objective as I can be. Like a middle-grade book for example is going to be on a different rating scale than something mature.
Oh definitely - I rate middle-grade books differently. I have to consider whether or not it is something a child would enjoy, along with everything else.
I tend to rate books simply based on how much I enjoyed reading them, but some of them are much more well written than others and it feels like comparing apples to oranges sometimes. Like I would give my favorite suspense thriller 5 stars but I would also give Madam Bovary 5 stars, but one was clearly superior as far as literature goes, haha.
I agree about what you said about Lavender House. The plot was ok…but what I really enjoyed about it was the time period and how the LGBTQ+ community navigated the hardships of the time. I’ve read the other books in the series because of that and the found family that they created I usually don’t rate anything lower than a 3…I’m probably too nice 😂
5 star reads are ones I want to own physically. Books that I see myself wanting to read again (or having read several times already like The Long Walk and Misery). I do a LOT of half and quarter star ratings because there are SO MANY books that aren't QUITE the whole star rating but are really close or are a little better than the whole star. It's one of the things I've loved the most since I switched to storygraph a few years ago, the ability to do quarter stars is HUGE.
I really appreciate the quarter and half stars on Storygraph, it opened up the ability to rate things in a more precise way. On Goodreads I tended to round up when rating things.
My current single star ratings tend to be:
5 - a physical copy will have a permanent home on my shelves because I loved it so much
4 - I had a good time, it was entertaining or interesting, I'll probably have a physical copy for at least a few years but may unhaul in the future if I run out of space
3 - decent read, but not one im going to read again and i won't keep a physical copy
2 - I finished this and didn't really enjoy it, immediately unhauling
1 - I have no idea why I finished this (if nonfiction I was probably trying to understand another point of view and I thought it was poorly done)
Usually if I'm feeling a 2 I'll DNF before finishing. I'm pretty picky about what I buy too, I'll check out a bunch of stuff from the library and try it first and if I'm into the first few chapters I'll buy a copy and finish reading my own copy so I tend to rate pretty highly overall because of this. And then of course SG let's us use the quarter and half stars so I can rate not quite a 4 a 3.75 instead.
I love seeing all the nuance in how people rate books. It adds a lot more to consider as I'm looking at the ratings for books im interested in too.
Your rating system is so similar to mine. I do half stars in my reading journal for sure. If a book is a 4 or 5 star, I want to have it on my shelf - five stars for sure!
I have never done half-stars and my system is pretty boring:
5- loved it
4- really liked it
3- liked it
2- didn’t really like it
1- hated it
I don’t think I’ve ever finished a book that would have been one star, so no, I don’t give 1-star ratings. And twos are also pretty rare because I’m more likely to dnf these as well. There is certainly nuance among any of my categories and not all 5-star books are equal for sure as the reason I gave them 5-stars differs. Maybe they are all-time favorites, things I will read over and over again, maybe they were just super compelling and well written, or maybe they just hit me at just the right time. Occasionally I will look back at a rating and want to change it (there were two like that last year), but generally what I rate it when I finish remains true to me looking back. Like you said, it’s just a gut feeling.
My 11-year-dislikes my system and definitely prefers half or quarter stars.
I feel like everyone's system will be different. I really like the nuance of half/quarter stars. It feels more true than just saying it's a 3 or a 4. When it comes to things like rating and reviewing early review copies of books, I definitely round up my ratings - so if it was a 3.5 I'll give it 4 stars.
I have been revisiting my thoughts on how I rate books too. I don't really give 1-2 stars because I usually DNF those, perhaps if it is good but then the ending sinks it... 3 means it is enjoyable, but I am unlikely to pick it back up. 4 is a good book worth rereading and a 5 is incredible, one of my favorite books of all time. So I have lots of half points and very few 5's. I think I am comfortable with that, because then the stars really stand out.
I wish Goodreads had quarter or half stars. I am pretty generous...3 is a "meh" read for me. I have to consider whether I'm the right person for the book and also try to compare the book to itself, or be as objective as I can be. Like a middle-grade book for example is going to be on a different rating scale than something mature.
Oh definitely - I rate middle-grade books differently. I have to consider whether or not it is something a child would enjoy, along with everything else.
I tend to rate books simply based on how much I enjoyed reading them, but some of them are much more well written than others and it feels like comparing apples to oranges sometimes. Like I would give my favorite suspense thriller 5 stars but I would also give Madam Bovary 5 stars, but one was clearly superior as far as literature goes, haha.
See, that's where a quarter or half star comes in handy!
I agree about what you said about Lavender House. The plot was ok…but what I really enjoyed about it was the time period and how the LGBTQ+ community navigated the hardships of the time. I’ve read the other books in the series because of that and the found family that they created
I usually don’t rate anything lower than a 3…I’m probably too nice 😂
I want your honest opinion.